Connor ‘blanconegro’ Drinan notches another Wins WCOOP

On paper, the final table for WCOOP Event #62-H $530 PLO8 looked dangerous. After all, it featured a trio of WCOOP winners including Connor ‘blanconegro’ Drinan, Richard ‘CHUFTY’ Ashby, and Alex987. But for Drinan, an American online poker exile and regular on the global high-stakes tournament scene, the final table seemed rather tame compared to the shark-infested waters on the high-roller circuit. Drinan shipped a High Roller in Barcelona on the EPT13, and he was runner-up at the PCA $50K High Roller in the Bahamas two years ago. He banked over $11 million in live tournaments, with the bulk of his earnings in highfalutin affairs.

Playing under the moniker ‘blanconegro’, Drinan had previously won a WCOOP title and he came into Event #62-H seeking another crown. Drinan and Sweden’s Simon ‘C. Darwin2’ Mattsson were nearly even when heads-up began. The two slugged it out for nearly 100 minutes. They were still mostly even for the majority of their bout, before Drinan pulled away in the 95th minute. A mini-rush thrust him into the lead and he never looked back. He promptly put away his opponent. C. Darwin2 failed to evolve into the winner’s circle and settled on a runner-up’s consolation prize. Connor ‘blanconegro’ Drinan collected a second career WCOOP to add to his growing list of accolades.

2017 WCOOP Event #62-H $530 PLO8 (8-Max) attracted 424 total entries, with 286 original runners plus 138 re-entries. The prize pool was $212,000. Only the top 55 places paid out with nearly $38K set aside to the champ.

Day 1 ended with 26 players remaining and bokkie87 in front with 1.8M. On Day 2, with two tables remaining, C.Darwin led the final 16 with a 3.1M stack. Fellow Swede jerry_only was second overall with 2.1M. Bjorn ‘bokkie87’ Verbakel was seeking a Triple COOP. The Dutch player won a TCOOP and SCOOP, but never a WCOOP. Alas, bokkie87 busted in 12th place and his Triple COOP quest abruptly ended. Brazil’s bedias, who once won the Sunday Million, busted in 11th place.

With ten remaining, C.Darwin2 closed in on 5M. Action went hand-for-hand on the final table bubble. aloe_AV1 made a final stand with A♠Q♠J♦3♠, but whiffed a Broadway straight draw and a nut flush draw against sprocketsAA’s A♦8♦7♥5♥. sprocketsAA won the pot with two pair and aloe_AV1 bubbled off the final table in tenth place.

The final table commenced during Level 35 with the blinds at 35K/70K. C. Darwin2 and blanconegro battled for the top spot with 4.9M each, while Austria’s Slavik_Krs struggled with the smallest stack remaining and only stack below 1M.

Chip leader Simon ‘C. Darwin2’ Mattsson won 2 SCOOPs, and RedPh0enix won a SCOOP in 2016, but this final table featured a trio of WCOOP winners: Alex987, CHUFTY, and blanconegro. Would one of them pick up another title? Or would a first-timer ship this event? British pro Richard ‘CHUFTY’ Ashby won a WCOOP in 2010. That same year, he won his first WSOP bracelet in Las Vegas. Russia’s Alex987 won a WCOOP last year in Badugi.

American online exile Conor ‘blanconegro’ Drinan is a regular on the high roller circuit. He took down a high roller last year at the EPT13 in Barcelona. He won his first WCOOP last year. He has too many COOP final tables to count, and even took second in the Sunday Million. His biggest online score to date was the final table of the 2017 SCOOP Main Event where he finished in sixth place, yet still walked away with a $250K score.

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